So both have had loads of hype leading up to their release, but which is better- Is it the Sega Dreamcast or the new Sony release, the Playstation 2.

Value for Money

At the moment, the Dreamcast is cheaper at about £150 with one game and a controller, which is not bad, when you compare it to the PS2. The PS2 is £300, similar to the Dreamcast release price, but it is being sold for much more than this, sometimes approaching £500 on Auction sites both in UK and in America.
Games on the Playstation tend to be a bit cheaper at about £30-£35 and they do tend to go down after a while as new releases come out. Dreamcast games will put you down at least £40, which I feel is a little expensive, considering the lack of choice you have when looking for games. However, the games on Dreamcast do tend to be of a higher quality, and hence enjoyment, at least in my experience.
On the PS2 though you can use PS games which I think was a superb idea, because I would ceratinly not have bought it if this had not been the case. Dreamcast, you have to buy all new games which is very annoying, if you have a selection of PS games which are then put to waste.
I particularly like football games, so I think the Ps2 is better for these, in particular because the majority of their games are made by EA Sports who are streets ahead in this field. FIFA 2001 is simply brilliant, but I can't help think how much better it would be on the Dreamcast with more realistci movements and more realistic characters. Dreamcast's best sports games are Virtua Tennis, which is in a class of its own and Virtua Striker, which is a poor realtion compared to FIFA. If Dreamcast could persuade EA Sports to make games for them then I am sure the Dreamcast would see a massive increase in sales.

Features

They are both supposed to be Internet ready, but the Dreamcast has evidently failed to live up to its promise. If you want internet access, you need to get a new keyboard to get the best out of it, which will cost you another £20-£30 and then you have to pay for the phone bill while on line. Also, downloads are not possible, due to the lack of a hard drive big enough to save any information. The PS2 also has access to the Internet, but the main advertising for it has focused on the fact that it has a high speed DVD drive, meaning that you will get higher quality games, which will run faster. i think they have lived up to their promise, and the hype created by thsi feature certainly inspired people to buy the PS2. I think therefore that the promise of Internet Access is a bit of a Faux Ami, and that you would do much better surfing the Net on your PC. Both consoles promised that you would be allowed to play games online against your friends, but this does not really seem to have materialised, so again this is disappointing.

Graphics

They both have superb graphics, but although the Playstation has a greater memory, I personally find Dreamcast games more enjoyable. The players are much more realistic, and it shapes them from dots as compared to squares on PS2 where the figures can start to look like block heads. I think especially on the sports games, the Dreamcast rules, although PS2 has many better soccer games in particular. The one game on Dreamcast where the graphics are superb is Virtua Tennis, where the players look extremely lifelike, as compared to PS2's All Star tennis where the players resemble cartoon characters unfortunately.

Overall, both of these consoles are superb, but my vote goes to the Dreamcast which at presnt is much better value for money than the PS2, and you can even get your hands on it!!!

Recommended: Yes